Catholics are to continue to oppose it, and to ensure that all provincial and territorial regulations on the solemnization of marriages provide full protection for freedom of conscience and religion, as guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Meanwhile, in Spain, a judge, Laura Alabau, has refused to marry a lesbian couple and is appealing to that country's high court to overturn the law.

A judge in Alicante, Spain, is refusing to marry a lesbian couple and has filed a legal challenge against the change in Spain's Civil Code allowing same-sex couples to contract "marriage." If the case reaches Spain's Constitutional Court, that body could reverse the new law.